Hey everyone! This is just a little something I started when the last season of Supernatural aired. I wasn't all that happy with the last season, so I started thinking about what I would do differently, which then ended up being, how can I add Alec into Supernatural...again. This starts all the way back a few months before season one, but it's really just a reimagining of Supernatural with Alec included. I haven't had any time to write for quite some time (I apologize for those waiting on any updates from Come Together), but I have all of Season 1 written and part of Season 2, so I thought I would just go ahead and post them all so anyone who wants to, can relive Supernatural with a little twist. If you have read Come Together, I wrote the actual chapters once I get into the season like I do the flashbacks with the twins and just kind of weave Alec into the story. I don't know if I will really have time to get past Season 2, but we'll see. Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter One: Seeing Double
Someone was following him, that much was easy to figure out, now he just had to figure out who. Manticore would be his first guess, but he was there, he saw it burn, so he knew Manticore was gone. It could still be another transgenic; it felt like it could be a transgenic. They were good, whoever was following him. They kept their distance, but not too far, so he couldn't just disappear, they stayed out of sight, so he'd have to turn around completely to actually see them, and he wouldn't know they were actually following him except he could sense it.
He debated whether he should confront them somewhere or if he should just let this play out. He was a little curious to find out what they wanted, and he was fairly confident he could take out whoever it was, but he didn't want to screw up and end up back in a cage. He didn't like seeing Manticore burned to the ground, but he had to admit, he liked being free. He liked eating whatever he wanted and going wherever he wanted when he wanted, he didn't want to be told what to do anymore even if it was easier to just follow someone else's orders.
So, if he wanted to stay free, then he should take control of the situation. He should find a nice, dark, abandoned alley and have a little chat with this guy. Fists might be necessary to get the information that he wanted, but that was ok with him. He could use a little fight to shake out some pent-up energy. Plus, if it was a transgenic, then it would be a pretty good fight, which would make it ever better.
He casually strolled down the next alley, dropping his hands into the pockets of his jeans while he kicked a rock down the dingy, cracked asphalt. He had a gun, but he decided not to use it unless he had to. It would be a better fight and it wouldn't draw as much attention.
He waited until he was in the shadows before he whipped around to confront whoever it was, but he frowned when he didn't see anyone behind him. Damn…they were really good. He slowly scanned the area, but he still couldn't find any sign of them.
He grunted when he was suddenly slammed against the wall with an arm pressed against his neck. He was just about to kick the man back but froze in shock when he saw his own face looking back at him.
"Who the hell are you?" the man growled, pressing harder against his neck.
"What?" he asked back. Way to go with the dumbest response in the whole world…But seriously, this guy looked just like him except his hair was shorter and he looked older than him. What was he supposed to say?
"You better start talkin'," the man said, "I've got a silver knife ready to go right through your ribs." To prove it, he pushed the point of a knife against his ribs on his left side. He didn't flinch at all since this wouldn't be the first time he'd been stabbed, and the man actually raised his eyebrows in surprise when he didn't react to the threat. "You're pretty good, I'll give ya that…" the man said. "Doesn't mean I won't do it though, so talk. Who are you?"
"My name's 4-Alec," he said. He still tripped over his new name. He just couldn't get used to going by something other than 494. He'd had covers before, but he'd always known they were temporary. Alec was his name now, and he liked his name, but he'd been 494 all his life, so this was still weird.
"You suddenly gettin' nervous?" the man asked. "Normally people don't trip over their own name."
"Who are you?" he shot back, trying to take control. This definitely was not going how he planned.
"I'm askin' the questions," the man said. "What are you?" His eyes widened slightly, but he quickly tried to cover it up. Where the hell did all of his training go? One guy shows up looking like him, and suddenly he's a tongue-tied idiot who couldn't even control their own facial expressions. He was a soldier; he was better than this. But the only explanation he could figure out for why they looked alike was that they were clones. This guy should already know what he was, so if he didn't know, then who was he?
He decided to go with honesty. Manticore wouldn't approve, but he thought this guy would appreciate honesty. "I'm a transgenic," he said. "I have human DNA and animal DNA mixed together. I mainly have cat DNA in my cocktail, which means I have enhanced abilities. I've got a lot of weird quirks that makes me a good soldier, and I was created and used at Manticore, which burned down not even a week ago and set me and a bunch of others free."
The man looked at him for a few seconds as if deciding if he was telling the truth or not. The knife was slowly pulled away from his side and the man's arm moved from his neck to his chest, so he was still restrained, but he was no longer concerned about the man crushing his windpipe. "My name's Dean," he said. "Why do we look alike?"
"No idea," he said truthfully. "I had a twin, but you're not him."
"Had?" Dean asked.
He shrugged, "He escaped Manticore a long time ago. I never met him, but I assume he's dead. Or if he's not, then he might as well be."
"Alright, c'mon," Dean said, removing his arm from his chest. "Looks like we've got a lot to talk about and we probably shouldn't talk about it here."
"You want me to come with you?" he asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice.
"Dude, there's gotta be some explanation for why we look alike," Dean said. "I wanna get to the bottom of it, so yeah, I want you to come with me." Dean looked at him for a few seconds before he said, "Unless you don't wanna go…"
"No…I wanna go," he said, sounding as lame as he felt. But for once in his life, someone wanted him to stick around. And yeah, maybe it was just until they got to the bottom of this whole look-alike-thing, but he'd take it.
"My car's not too far from here," Dean said. "It'll be easier to talk."
He nodded back, and just followed after Dean. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but what else did he have to do.
He immediately wanted to call his Dad to find out what he should do, but he already knew what his Dad would say. Obviously, Alec wasn't completely human, the kid had said so himself, but that meant Dad would say he should kill him. But he didn't want to kill Alec. He didn't know why except for the fact that the kid had told him the truth. He could've made up any story to save his ass, but he didn't. The story he'd told him sounded crazy, but he believed him.
"Woah…" Alec breathed as soon as they were in view of the Impala. "Please tell me that's your car."
He couldn't help his wide smile as he nodded, "Yeah, that's her."
"That's awesome," Alec said, slowly looking it over.
Dammit…he liked the kid even more now. He had no idea why they looked alike, but he knew they'd get to the bottom of it eventually. Until then, it'd be kind of nice to have someone else around. Sam had ditched him for college and Dad had ditched him to do his own hunts. Dad still checked in every once in a while, but for the most part he was on his own. And Alec seemed to want to stick around for a little while, which was fine with him.
"Hey, you hungry?" he asked.
"I could eat," Alec played off.
When he said that it meant he was practically starving, and he thought maybe Alec meant the same thing. Plus, his clothes looked like they were too big for him, which could mean he hadn't eaten in a while. He could be wrong, but he didn't want him to go without food. "Alright, let's find some food," he said.
It was a little weird to have his look-alike sitting in his passenger seat, but he got over it a lot faster than he should have. Alec was just looking around curiously as they drove through Seattle. He didn't know how old the kid was, but he was definitely younger than him and he was overly curious about the outside world.
Something about what the kid had said earlier was bugging him. He'd said he was created and used at Manticore. What did he mean by used? He wanted to ask him what he'd meant, but he figured now wasn't the time. But the kid had the same look in his eyes that he had in his own. He'd seen and done some things that he wanted to forget, and Alec looked like he had too.
"Did you just…How did you…" Alec stopped again and thought for a moment to try to figure out what he wanted to say.
He decided to help the kid out and asked, "How did I find you? Did I know about you?"
"Yeah…" Alec said, quickly looking away from him.
"I didn't know about you," he said. "I saw you walking down the street and wanted to get some answers. You've got a good casual walk, by the way. I thought you didn't know for a while."
"I should've been able to lose you, but you're good at tracking," Alec said. He sounded impressed, and he decided to take that as a compliment. Something told him that Alec wasn't used to people being able to track him. "And I didn't hear you coming when you came up behind me…only transgenics should be able to sneak up on me."
He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he was saved from having to think of an answer because he'd just spotted a local diner they could eat at. "How's that look?" he asked, pointing out the diner.
Alec just shrugged, but then said, "I don't have any money to pay for it…" He looked over at the kid and was just about to tell him it was ok when Alec quickly spoke again. "I was going to go to this place to get some money tonight. There's a place not far from here where you can go and fight in a cage, and if you win the fight, then you get money for it. The more fights you win, the more money you make, so I figured I could get a couple hundred tonight, so I can pay you back, but I don't have anything right now. I know you don't know me, but I swear I'll pay you-"
"Hey, it's ok," he interrupted when it looked like the kid wasn't going to stop. "I'll get us some food, we'll chat, and then I can drop you off wherever you live." He didn't really want to drop the kid off, but he didn't want to kidnap him either. He didn't have any money, but that didn't mean he didn't have a place here, or at least a plan for what he wanted to do. His plan might not be to stick around with the guy who had attacked him in the alley.
"Oh…um, ok," Alec said.
"You don't have anywhere to live, do you," he guessed. Alec shook his head no and refused to meet his gaze. "What about clothes?"
"This is it," Alec said.
"Ok, you're stickin' with me, alright? You don't have anywhere else to go, you don't have any money, we look alike, and this is the best way to figure things out," he said.
"You don't even know me," Alec said. "Why would you want me to go anywhere with you?"
"I don't have anyone else," he said honestly. "I'm on my own here too, so I figure we could stick together, watch each other's backs, find out why we look alike…I don't know, doesn't seem like a bad idea to keep you around for some reason."
"Ok," Alec said.
He got out of the car, but then leaned back in when Alec didn't move, "C'mon dude, time for some food."
He had to pull himself together. He should accept whatever Dean was willing to give him while the man still wanted him around because he knew it wasn't going to last. Once Dean figured out what he did for a living, he was going to kick him to the curb.
He followed Dean into the diner, looking around curiously as they went. He'd never been to a diner before, but it was kind of a neat place. It wasn't the cleanest, but it felt kind of nice to be in there, and the smell was amazing. Actual cooked food wasn't something he'd had a lot of. He lived off of MRE's, which were only ok on their best days. This smelled like heaven.
They sat down in a booth, and he could tell Dean was looking at him, but he was still watching everything that was going on. He knew Dean wouldn't hurt him, so he could focus on everything else in the diner.
"Have you ever been in a diner before?" Dean asked. He finally looked over at Dean and shook his head no. "You need to get out more," Dean muttered.
"You have no idea…"
"Alright, so this Manticore place," Dean said. "What was it?"
He hesitated; he wasn't supposed to talk about Manticore. But Manticore was gone now, and he still felt like he could trust Dean. "It's gone now," he finally said.
"What was it before it was gone?" Dean asked, unwilling to let him get away from the real question.
He shrugged, "I guess it was my home…it's where I lived my whole life anyway."
"Alec, you seem like a good kid, but this dancin' around the subject thing is startin' to piss me off," Dean said.
"I'm not supposed to talk about it," he said, sounding like a child. But his whole life he'd been told to never talk about this while he was on a mission outside of the compound, but Manticore was gone now.
"That place scares you," Dean guessed. He looked up in surprise, which only confirmed what Dean had already guessed. "What did they do to you?" Dean asked.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "It was just a place, they trained me to be a soldier for my whole life, and that's it. Now it's gone. It's not a big deal."
"Ok…" Dean said. "Let's try something easier…how old are you?"
"I don't know."
"Are you kidding me?" Dean asked, leaning forward slightly. "This should be the one question that you have no problem answering. You could say any number you want even."
"I don't really know…"
Dean took a deep breath, and then let it back out, "Ok, you look about voting age, maybe a little younger, so we'll say you're 17 or 18, ok?"
"Ok," he said.
"Let's try another easy one," Dean said. "What's your last name?"
"I don't have one," he said.
"What d'you mean you don't have one?" Dean asked back.
"I mean…I didn't even have a name until about a week ago when Max gave me one," he said. "I'm X5-494. My real number's a lot longer, so I guess you could call that my nickname, but that's all I had."
"They called you by a number?" Dean growled.
"That's how they told us apart. We all have barcodes on the back of our necks that are actually our numbers," he whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "It's not a big deal."
"Big deal? Alec, you're a person, you should be treated like a person," Dean hissed. "What else did they do to you?"
"Nothin-"
"Alec. Tell me what they did to you," Dean demanded. "I want to know everything."
"I don't want to talk about it here," he whispered, looking around again. He knew he shouldn't be paranoid, but he really wasn't supposed to talk about Manticore, and even though it was gone now, someone could still be listening.
"Wow…somehow I found someone even more paranoid than I am," Dean muttered under his breath. "Fine," Dean said to him. "But we are gonna talk about it."
"Ok," he said. He didn't know why Dean cared so much, but he'd humor the man. Maybe he wouldn't kick him out if he just told him about his life. Or…he could run away screaming once he knew the whole story. But he wasn't running yet, so maybe he could talk to him.
"Alright boys, here are your burgers," their waitress said.
Dean had ordered for him since he hadn't known what to get, but whatever he'd picked smelled amazing. He felt like he was starving, but he was trying not to let Dean know that fact, so he had to keep it together and pretend like he didn't want to eat his burger and Dean's.
Dean looked at him knowingly though and slid his burger over to him too. He was just about to protest, but Dean was ready for him, "I can tell, so don't even try it."
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm gonna order another one," Dean said with a smile. "So, dig in. It's even better while it's hot." He picked up the burger, and after the first bite, the rest of the burger was gone in three seconds flat. "Hey, slow down," Dean said with a chuckle. "You're gonna choke if you keep this up."
"It's really good," he mumbled around his mouthful.
"Have you ever had a burger before?" Dean asked. He shook his head no and stuffed some fries in his mouth as soon as he was able to. "What about pie?"
"Nope," he said.
"What about-"
"Let's just say I've lived off of MRE's for my whole life, ok?" he said to make it easier for Dean. He wouldn't know what Dean was talking about anyway, so he might as well just cover everything.
"I have so much to show you…" Dean muttered with a small smile.
He smiled a little too, but then Dean let him eat, and luckily it didn't take long for another burger to come out for Dean. He was pretty sure he was actually in heaven though when the waitress brought over a slice of pie for both of them. If he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life, it would be pie.
"C'mon, let's go find a better place to talk," Dean said after he dropped a few bills on the table.
The kid looked nervous again once they walked into the motel room. He just stood in the doorway like he wasn't sure if he should stick around or if he should make a run for it.
"Look, I know this is a crap room," he said, looking over the two dingy beds in the semi-clean room. "But it's cheap, which means more money for food and whatever clothes I can get ahold of for you."
"I should just go-"
He sighed and grabbed the kid's arm to drag him further into the room. "We've still got a lot to talk about," he said. He didn't want to force the kid to stick around, but he still needed some answers.
"You don't seem all that freaked out about what I am," Alec muttered. "Last person who found out even a little bit, freaked…"
"Well, I'm not most people," he said. He grabbed two beers from the fridge that he'd put in there earlier, but then stopped before he handed one to Alec. He wasn't one to care about the proper drinking age, but the kid had never had one before…maybe he should wait and get him a good drink for his first one. He looked over to see Alec sitting on the edge of one of the beds, still looking lost. "Here," he said, holding the beer out for Alec to take.
"What is it?" Alec asked, his eyes shooting up to look at him. The kid was way too young to have eyes that looked that old.
"It's a beer," he said. "It's not as good as pie, but it's still good."
Alec took it and drank a sip before he slowly nodded, "You're right…not as good as pie, but still good." He slowly sat down on the opposite bed and drank his own beer, letting Alec start their discussion however he wanted. He got the feeling Alec didn't get to ask very many questions in his lifetime. "Dean…you're normal, right?" Alec asked.
"Define normal," he replied with a smirk.
"I mean, you have a family, and you didn't grow up in a government facility," Alec said. He nodded, so Alec asked, "Do you think I could be your clone?"
His eyebrows rose in disbelief, "Dude, scientists aren't even close to cloning humans yet."
"No one thought they were close to creating life yet either, but here I am," Alec said. "It's not that far of a stretch to think that they got your DNA somehow, mixed in a little cat DNA, and then got me."
"How would they get my DNA?" he asked. When Alec put it like that, cloning made a lot more sense. He could tell the kid wasn't lying about this Manticore place, which pissed him off because those people sounded like douchebags. He'd caught sight of Alec's barcode when they were leaving the diner, and it made him incredibly sad to think about the fact that this kid really was treated like a number for his whole life.
"Do you still have your appendix?" Alec asked.
He frowned and looked at Alec like he was crazy, "Yeah…I still have my appendix…"
"I'm just trying to think of a surgery someone would have as a kid," Alec clarified. "Were you ever in the hospital when you were…let's say…seven years old?"
He definitely understood where the kid was going with this now, but if Alec had known his life, then he wouldn't have even needed to ask him that question. He'd been in and out of hospitals his whole life thanks to his job. He wasn't always the one who needed patched up, but he'd broken multiple bones, had needed tons of stitches, and had gone through more than one surgery. "Yeah, I was in the hospital when I was seven or eight," he muttered.
Alec's head cocked to the side when he'd answered, which meant he needed to get his shit together and stop giving everything away. "Ok," Alec said, letting it go for now. "So, let's say they got your DNA while you were in the hospital. There could've been any number of Manticore scientists all over the world to collect samples. They would've needed a lot of different samples because they made a lot of different transgenics…" Alec was quiet as he thought about it, and he could practically see the wheels turning.
He could tell Alec was incredibly smart, working through every scenario he could think of in just a few seconds. Sam would like this kid…He immediately felt a pang of hurt since Sam was gone and wanted nothing to do with him. He knew he couldn't replace Sam with Alec, but he just didn't want to travel by himself anymore. He missed having someone to talk to, having someone around to have his back.
"It makes sense," Alec finally said. "I think I'm your clone."
"You're serious…" he said.
"It doesn't seem that weird," Alec said. "If you knew what all they made at Manticore, you wouldn't think this was that weird either. But how else do you explain the exact lookalike? I mean, we look exactly alike…like down to the last freckle, alike…"
"Ok…I see your point," he said. "Now you wanna tell me what they did to you?"
"Why do you care?" Alec asked, his eyes narrowed.
He sighed and stood up to get his pocketknife out of his pants pocket. It was a silver knife, so if Alec was actually lying, which he didn't think he was, but if he was, then this would prove it. "Let me see your hand," he said. Alec didn't even ask why. He just held out his hand and let him slice the knife through his skin without question. His skin didn't burn or anything, so the kid was who he said he was, but he was going to have a talk with him about letting some stranger cut his hand without even questioning it. "You see this?" he asked, holding up Alec's bleeding hand. "You're blood. You're my blood. That's why I care."
"You still don't know me," Alec said sadly.
He carefully wrapped a handkerchief around Alec's hand and said, "What d'you think the 20 questions are for?" Alec finally chuckled a little, which made him feel better. "But I'm never gonna get very far if you keep refusing to answer…"
"Maybe you should ask easier questions," Alec said. He shook his head in amusement, but Alec spoke again before he could come up with an easier question. "So…did I pass whatever test that was?"
"What test?" he tried to play off.
"Whatever the knife test was," Alec said. "You could've just said we shared the same blood, but there was some kind of test with the knife. Did you think I was gonna take it from you? Because I could, but I don't think I would've passed the test then…"
He took a deep breath and decided if Alec was going to stick around, then he needed to tell him about hunting. "You told me the truth, so I guess now it's my turn," he said. "My life's not as normal as I was letting on earlier…"
"If this is about the fake IDs and the weird names on the credit cards, I don't think that's a big deal," Alec said.
"How did-"
"I have really good eyesight," Alec said. "You opened your wallet at the diner and looked through a few different cards, and your ID didn't say 'Dean' on it. So, either you have fake IDs, or you gave me a fake name."
"I do have fake IDs, but I gave you my real name," he said. "You were right though; the knife was a test."
"Did I pass?" Alec asked. The kid was going for teasing, but he couldn't pull it off completely.
"You passed," he said.
"What was the test?" Alec asked.
"You're gonna think I'm crazy," he warned.
"I just told you that I think I'm your clone…you can't be crazier than that," Alec said.
"Ok…If you were a monster, then the silver would've burned your skin when I cut you," he said.
"A monster?"
"Ghosts are real, Alec," he said. "Ghosts, werewolves, wendigos…monsters are real, and I hunt them."
Alec was quiet, but then he slowly nodded and said, "Yeah…you're crazy…"
"I told you that you were gonna think I was crazy," he said. "But I can prove it."
"You can prove it," Alec said in disbelief. He stood up and ran his hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at his other hand that was wrapped with the handkerchief, and then made a fist as if testing how it felt.
He let Alec work through what he'd told him. Sam would've been asking him rapid fire questions to try to figure out if he was telling the truth or not, but Alec wasn't Sam. Alec didn't ask him a million questions or demand to see what proof he had. He stood there thinking for a few minutes before he finally turned around again.
"Can I ask one question?" Alec asked.
"Sure," he easily replied. This was Alec's test for him, which meant whatever he asked, he needed to tell the complete truth.
"How did you find out ghosts were real?" Alec asked.
He swallowed hard…of course Alec would ask the only question he wouldn't want to answer. But this was important. Alec was basing his trust in him with this one answer. If he wanted the kid to stick around, then he needed to answer honestly. "My Mom died when I was a kid…Something killed her, burned her alive and burned our house, and my Dad started looking for what it was. He found out ghosts were real along the way and started killing anything evil that he could get his hands on. And me and my brother helped him."
"Where's your Dad and brother?" Alec asked.
"Dad's on a hunt right now, and my little brother went off to college," he said.
"And you really want me to stick around?" Alec asked.
"Yeah, I do," he said.
"I just have one more question," Alec said.
"Ok, shoot," he said.
"Can you teach me how to kill ghosts?" Alec asked with a small smile.
A smile spread across his face and he nodded, "Yeah, I can teach you how to kill ghosts."
He woke up the next morning and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Alec walk out of the bathroom. Somehow, he'd forgotten that he'd met his clone the day before and had asked him to stick around. But Alec was showered, dressed in yesterday's clothes, his bed was made like he hadn't even slept in it, but he still looked a little lost.
"Hey, you sleep ok?" he asked.
"Yeah," Alec said.
He didn't know why that answer bugged him, but decided he'd try that one again later. Instead, he said, "We'll go get you some clothes today. You can wear some of mine now if you want some mostly clean clothes."
"These are ok," Alec said, looking away from him. "I was gonna go out and get some things…"
"Alec, c'mon, you gotta let me help a little bit," he said. "I'm going to get you clothes and we're gonna eat breakfast, ok?" Alec still wouldn't look at him, so he asked, "You are hungry, right?" Alec finally nodded, but he still didn't look comfortable. "Hey, I know this is…weird…but we can be friends. I'm not gonna hurt you, and friends help each other out when they need it."
"I'm pretty hungry," Alec whispered.
"Ok, so, food first," he said. "Let's do pancakes and bacon. How's that sound?" Alec shrugged, so he said, "You gotta talk to me. I know you've probably never had that before, but if it sounds good, then we can get that. Or we can get donuts or biscuits and gravy or eggs or anything that sounds good."
"I like the sound of pancakes and bacon," Alec said.
"Pancakes and bacon it is," he said. "Just give me a few minutes, and then we'll go." Alec slowly sat down on his bed while he went to the bathroom and changed. Alec still looked lost when he came out of the bathroom again, but he followed him to the car when he walked outside. "We'll have to look for clothes at a thrift shop, so it won't be great, but they'll be yours."
Alec nodded again, and he wasn't sure if he was just nervous or if he thought maybe he'd get mad at him if he didn't talk or what was going on, but he wished he could find the right thing to say to make him feel more comfortable. He let Alec sit in silence though, only because maybe if he let him just sit, then he'd feel better about sticking around. He hoped he didn't overstep too far in practically forcing Alec to stick around with him.
He found another diner and ordered them both breakfast, but Alec asked for milk after he tasted the coffee that he'd ordered for him. He'd laughed at the face Alec had made when he'd tried the coffee, but he really hadn't thought about anyone not having coffee before. Alec had smiled when he laughed, which made him feel a little better about the kid sticking around.
Alec watched him when their pancakes got there, and then copied him, putting syrup on his pancakes. He laughed again after Alec took a bite, and then poured even more syrup on his pancakes.
"So, I…um, I have to do this thing tonight, but you can just chill at the motel until I get back, ok?" he said when they were almost done with the food. He'd ordered Alec more pancakes twice because he could tell he was still hungry, but he still had a hunt to finish. Dad had sent him to Seattle for a reason, and then he'd happened to run into Alec, which had changed all of his plans. Alec looked up, and he could tell the kid was starting to panic. "It's nothing big. I should just be gone for a couple hours, and then I'll be back, and we can hit the road."
"Where are you going?" Alec asked.
"It's just…my Dad sent me here for a job, so I gotta do the job before we leave the city," he said. "It won't take me long, and then I swear I'll come back and pick you up."
"I…can I go too?" Alec asked, sounding just like a kid would.
"Alec, you don't know how to hunt," he said. "I'm just doing this to keep you safe. This shouldn't be a hard hunt, but you could get hurt if I let you go with me." Dammit…Alec looked like a kicked puppy, and he couldn't handle that. He hardly knew this kid, but he definitely wanted to wipe that look off of Alec's face. "Ok, ok, you can come with me, but I think you should wait in the car."
"I could help," Alec said quickly. "I know I don't know anything about hunting, but I have other training. I can help because I have really good reflexes and you should probably have someone to watch your back. I'm a really good shot and even though I can't hunt a ghost I can still shoot a gun. Although now that I think about it, I don't know if shooting a ghost will work or not, but-"
"Hey, take a breath," he cut off as soon as he figured out Alec wasn't going to stop. "You can come with me and I'll try to catch you up on as much as I can, but if I don't think you're ready to hunt, then you'll have to stay in the car."
"I don't have anywhere else to go," Alec said, keeping his gaze locked on his plate. "I don't know what to do anymore…" He didn't know where this was coming from, but maybe trying to bench Alec from this hunt had made him feel like he was trying to ditch him.
"This is about Manticore, right?" he guessed. Alec nodded but still wouldn't look at him. "Me and you are in the same boat here. Right now, all we've got is each other, but I asked you to stay and I'm not goin' back on that. I'm not gonna disappear, I'm not gonna ditch you, and I'm not gonna kick you out. Me trying to keep you out of this hunt, is me trying to protect you." Alec finally looked up at him and he could clearly see that kid was lost and confused. He could tell that Alec didn't think he was worth protecting, which made him want to protect him even more. "But let's just see how much I can teach you, ok? I swear this is gonna be an easy hunt, but it would be nice to have someone watching my back."
Alec looked hopeful, but then he quickly looked away again. This was a lot more difficult than he'd thought it would be. He would've thought having a clone would mean they would just know each other, but his own childhood was a mess, so he couldn't imagine Alec's childhood. Dad treated him like a soldier after Mom died, but he still had a name. His Dad still comforted him when he got hurt. Plus, he had Sam. He had someone else with him, who cared about him and always tried to protect him.
Alec didn't have any of that. He was treated like a soldier from day one. He'd been called by a number, treated like he was just a number. He didn't have a Mom or Dad or a brother or sister. He didn't even think he had any friends since he'd been wandering around Seattle by himself. He was all alone.
"You sure you wanna come with me?" he asked softly. Alec's eyes shot up, and he could see the hope spark again. "With or without training, I think you should watch my back." Alec smiled a little and nodded. "Alright, you want some food to go, or you ready for some new clothes?"
"Is it ok if I finish the rest of this?" Alec asked.
"Eat up," he said with a reassuring smile. "I'll even order you some more if you're still hungry."
"I'm always hungry," Alec muttered.
He chuckled, "I'm starting to figure that out."
"Sorry…I can still go get some money," Alec said.
"I eat a lot too," he said. "Not as much as you, but it's ok. We can work on the money thing later, after the hunt."
"Ok," Alec said.
He let Alec finish the rest of his food, and then they made their way to the closest thrift shop. He'd told Alec to pick out whatever he wanted, to not worry about money, but the best Alec could do was find a ratty looking sweater and a pair of pants that looked like they would be too big for him.
"Do you actually like this sweater, or did you pick it because it looked cheap?" he asked, trying to sound teasing instead of like someone's Dad, but he wasn't sure how to bring this up without sounding like a Dad.
"It looks warm," Alec muttered.
"Are you cold?" he asked, concerned. The wind was chilly, and Alec was only wearing a sweater right now, but he hadn't looked cold. If he'd known Alec was cold, he would've given him one of his jackets.
"No…I just…I…I don't know…" Alec took a step back from him, but he grabbed his arm to keep him from disappearing.
"You're not just getting two things," he said. "If you really want this sweater, then I'll buy you the sweater, but this isn't the only thing you're getting." Alec kept looking at him like he wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. "Do you want the sweater?" he asked. Alec looked away, but nodded, so he said, "Ok, you hold on to the sweater, but I'm not buying these pants. You need some that'll actually fit, so that means you gotta try stuff on. It sucks, but it won't take too long."
"Can I get a jacket too?" Alec asked.
He chuckled and reached over to mess up Alec's hair. Alec smiled, looking just like a little brother who was happy to be tagging along with his big brother. "Alright, we're gonna do this Winchester style," he said. "You just hold out your arms and carry everything that I pick out, ok? Then you just gotta try stuff on, and then we'll be out of here before you know it."
"And you'll teach me stuff about hunting?" Alec asked, following him around the shop.
"Yeah, I'll teach you about hunting too," he said. He threw some more shirts at Alec and smiled when he managed to catch them. Alec smiled too, which meant they were slowly making some headway. "So, this hunt is a ghost hunt. It should be fairly easy since I already know where they're sort of buried and it's just one ghost."
"Do we have to dig them up?" Alec asked.
He frowned and looked over at Alec, "How did you figure that out already?"
"You said you know where they're buried," Alec said with a shrug. "Only makes sense that if someone's buried, and you took the time to know where they're buried, then it's important, and buried dead people usually aren't very important once they're dead and buried."
"Ok…the way you put it makes it more confusing, but yeah, we have to dig them up," he said.
"So…how do you kill something that's already dead?" Alec asked.
"Well, a ghost is only here because they have unfinished business. They were killed and they want revenge, or they think they were taken too young, I don't know. All I know is that they're here and they're violent. They're usually stuck to the place they died, or they're attached to an object that they had," he explained. "Our job is to figure out where they are, where they're buried, or what they're attached to. Then, we salt and burn."
"Why salt?" Alec asked. He dumped some more clothes into his arms, and then led him over to the dingy looking changing rooms.
"Salt is a symbol of purity," he said, gently pushing Alec into the changing room. "You tell me if those don't fit," he ordered.
"Ok…"
"Since salt is pure, it repels impure and unnatural things," he said. "So, when we salt and burn the bones of a ghost, it repels them from here and sends them away forever."
"Away where?" Alec asked.
"No idea," he said. "Just away."
"Ok, so, we find where they're buried, dig them up, and salt and burn the bones," Alec said. "How come I feel like it's not that easy…"
He chuckled; Alec was a quick kid and picked up on things that others would need to be spelled out. "You're right, it's usually not that easy. Typically, ghosts hold onto the afterlife like…well…like their lives depend on it." He heard Alec laugh, which made him pretty happy.
"That's pretty good," Alec said.
"I thought so," he replied. He leaned against the wall, and then continued, "Luckily, salt is good for other things too. Ghosts get a little violent when we try to kill them for the second time, so they try to stop us. We can use salt to keep them out of places and trap them, we also use salt rounds and shoot them to make them disappear for a while."
"So, I can use a gun? Because I really am a good shot," Alec said. "I can really be your backup if I can use a gun."
"Alec, you're gonna be my backup no matter what," he said. "But yes, we have shotguns and salt rounds, which we will be bringing even though this really should be an easy hunt."
"Is salt the only thing that stops a ghost?" Alec asked.
"Iron works to make it disappear for a while too, but to really get rid of it, you have to use salt," he said.
Alec walked out of the changing room with only half of the clothes that he'd gone in with. "These fit," Alec said.
"Do the others fit too?" he asked.
"Some of them do," Alec said honestly.
"Do you like the ones that fit?" he pushed. He didn't want Alec to get clothes that he didn't even like. Alec nodded, so he said, "I don't want to get you clothes that you don't like, so tell me the truth." Alec went back into the room, and then came back with about half of what he had before. "Ok, we good?" he asked.
"Yeah," Alec said.
"This isn't a lot of clothes, so we can either keep looking or you can wear some of mine until we can find more that you like," he said.
"Ok," Alec said. He was quiet for a minute, but then asked, "Can I have a bag…um…for my things?"
"Sure thing, kiddo," he said with a smile. "Let's get you a couple jackets, and then we can head out."
"Ok," Alec said, sounding a lot happier than before. Slowly they were going to get used to each other and figure things out. He just had to make sure Alec stayed safe on this hunt.
"You are seriously way too calm right now," Dean muttered, looking over at him in surprise.
He smiled a little and said, "I understand guns. And even though this is some kind of hunt for a ghost, it feels like I'm getting ready for a mission. This feels familiar…normal." Dean looked sad when he said that, so he quickly muttered, "Sorry." He didn't know why he said anything. It was weird that this felt normal…safe. He was a freak, and nothing was going to change that. He didn't know how to act around Dean because there was no reason for Dean to be so nice to him. But Dean kept doing things for him. He bought him food, and then even more food just because he knew he was still hungry, and he bought him clothes and made him feel like he belonged somewhere. He didn't want to lose this feeling, so he couldn't scare Dean.
"Hey, you don't have to apologize," Dean said. "We just met each other. We're not gonna know everything about each other in a day. You telling me that you feel comfortable right now actually tells me that you're good in high stress situations. I feel better bringing you on your first hunt with just a pretty basic rundown since you're so calm right now."
That made him feel better. Dean grabbed some extra salt rounds, lighter fluid, two shovels, and a canister of salt before he shut the trunk. Dean hit his arm and passed him one of the shovels before he led the way over to an abandoned house. It was creepy looking, and he was fairly certain that it could fall down if the weather even started to think about being windy, but Dean walked over to it with confidence, so he stayed with him. He was a trained assassin; a crumbly abandoned building did not scare trained assassins.
"We're going to the back," Dean whispered. "There should be a pile of bricks, that could have been a chimney from the house. I guess his friends were 'helping' him build a chimney, but then shoved it off the house and onto him? I don't really know. It could've been an accident, but ghosts sometimes don't care if it was an accident or not."
"So, this ghost has been killing people?" he asked. He was trying to learn as much as he could, so he could be a good backup, but he didn't think he was really getting it. He just hoped he didn't completely screw this up. If Dean got hurt, it was going to be his fault. He shouldn't repay Dean like this…
"There's only been a few deaths, but a lot more accidents," Dean said. "Weird, crush-injury accidents."
"Like getting crushed by a ton of bricks," he said.
Dean looked over at him in surprise, which made him smile. He felt like Dean was proud of him for picking up on things on this hunt. No one had ever been proud of him before. "You're quick," Dean said. "You're gonna be good at hunting."
"I've had lots of training," he said.
"I don't know…I think it might just be in your blood," Dean said. That made him feel good. Dean messed up his hair again, which really made him feel good. Dean didn't know what all he had done, but he knew what he was, and he still wasn't afraid of him. "So, the plan is to dig through the pile and find the bones. I don't think we'll have to dig, but I'm not really sure."
He felt bad for the guy that had died under a pile of bricks. "They didn't try to find him?" he asked. "No one tried to get his body to bury him?" That sounded like Manticore, not the real world.
"I couldn't find any obituary for the guy," Dean said. "The official report was that he just took off. I'm just goin' off of rumors right now."
He chuckled, and then when Dean looked over at him, he said, "I've never gone on a mission off of a rumor before."
"Welcome to hunting," Dean said with a smirk.
"I like it," he said.
Dean huffed, "You like having no plan."
"Yeah, it's different," he said. "It usually took a day or two to plan most missions, a week if it was a high priority mission." Dean looked like he wanted to ask him more questions about it, but he still didn't feel like it was really safe to talk about Manticore. It was bad enough that he'd said so much already, but he wanted Dean to trust him because he didn't want Dean to tell him to leave. He almost couldn't decide if Manticore finding out that he'd said anything would be worse than Dean not trusting him, but he knew that no matter what torture Manticore would put him through for this, he wanted Dean's trust more. Dean had already shown more concern for him than anyone else had his entire life. The only person who came close to showing concern for him was Lydecker, but that was only because he hadn't wanted to let psy-ops turn his brain into a puddle.
"We usually plan, but that's more Sammy's department. My plans usually turn to shit anyway, so I like to wing it," Dean said, saving him from saying anything else about Manticore. "Alright, see that over there," Dean said, pointing over to a tree with a pile of what looked like bricks under it. He nodded, so Dean said, "We're both gonna dig, but if you feel the temperature drop or if anything feels off, that's probably the ghost. Shoot it if you can, or grab some salt and throw it, ok?"
"Ok," he said.
He followed Dean over to the pile of bricks, which were bigger than he'd expected, and they quickly started to move them out of the way. They weren't heavy, not for him anyway, but it didn't look like Dean was having any problem with them either. There were a lot more bricks than he'd thought there would be, but so far, no sign of any bones or anything.
He stopped when he suddenly got goosebumps and looked over at Dean. The older man grabbed his gun and looked around, so he did the same.
"Alec!" Dean yelled.
He turned and fired, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw someone that was somewhat see-through just disappear. He was physically forced out of his shock by a brick flying out of nowhere and crashing against his head. He fell back, dazed, then it felt like something was slammed against his chest. His breath was gone, and the edges of his vision were going dark, but then the pressure was suddenly gone, and Dean was there.
He coughed and tried to get in as much air as he could, but then decided it hurt too much, so he just held his breath. "You ok?" Dean asked, forcing him to sit up. He nodded since he didn't have enough air to talk just yet. "Ok, we gotta get you up," Dean said.
Dean had to duck suddenly as another brick went flying through the air. He ignored the pain in his chest, and the fact that he was dizzy, and forced himself to stand up. Dean quickly helped support him since he swayed, but then they were moving away from the pile. He wasn't really sure why they were moving away from the pile, but they were.
More bricks were flying at them, but then Dean threw a lighter onto the pile of bricks and they immediately caught fire. His eyes widened again when he saw the see-through man go up in flames along with the pile of bricks. He stood there in shock, because even though he had believed Dean when he told him about ghosts, it was completely different to see it with his own eyes.
"Alec, you ok?" Dean asked. "We should've just caught the bricks on fire in the first place…"
"I'm ok," he breathed.
"You don't sound ok," Dean said. "C'mon, let's get back to the car. I'll look you over once you can sit down."
"I'm really ok," he said, stronger this time. "My chest hurts a little bit, that's it."
"You're bleeding too," Dean said.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He'd messed up. He should've moved faster, then he wouldn't have gotten hurt. Dean could've gotten hurt because of him.
"Oh boy," Dean said with a sigh. "Looks like we're gonna be in for a long talk once you're sitting down." He frowned in confusion since he wasn't sure if Dean was mad at him or not. "I should've come up with a real plan, or filled you in a little more on ghost hunts…I really shouldn't have let you come out here at all, but…I don't know…"
"The best way to train is to do it," he said. "And I'll be fine by tomorrow. I heal fast, so this isn't a big deal."
"I'm still gonna look you over," Dean said. He let Dean bring him over to the Impala and he sat down in the passenger seat when Dean motioned for him to sit down. Dean took his gear and put it in the trunk, and then he came back over with a first aid kit. He flinched when Dean turned on a little flashlight, but he didn't move away when Dean checked the cut at his temple. "This is gonna sting," Dean said before he cleaned out the cut. "You need a couple stitches…"
"Don't worry about it," he said.
"I'm still gonna try to close it up…bandage it at least," Dean said.
"Ok," he said. He was pretty sure arguing wasn't really an option. He was a little freaked out that he wasn't getting yelled at right now, but he wasn't going to point that out either. Dean was incredibly gentle as he used a couple of butterfly bandages to close the cut.
"You said your chest hurt too?" Dean asked with a frown.
"It's ok now," he said.
"Let me take a look," Dean said. He hesitated but Dean gave him another look, so he laid back when Dean pushed on his shoulder. He barely breathed while Dean took a look at his chest. It hurt and he didn't want to let Dean know that it hurt because he wasn't supposed to show that he was in pain. Pain was a weakness, and he couldn't show weakness. "You ok?" Dean asked.
"Yeah…fine," he said.
Dean didn't look like he believed him, but he didn't ask him again. "Well, I'll still get you some ice once we get back." Dean helped him sit up again before he ran around to get in on the other side. "I thought you said you believed me that ghosts were real," Dean said, looking over at him with a teasing smile.
"I did believe you," he said. "But believing it and seeing it are two different things. It's hard to picture exactly what a ghost is going to look like until you see it."
"I tried to warn you but it's hard to explain it all," Dean said.
"I should've moved faster earlier," he said. "It shouldn't have mattered that it was my first time seeing a ghost…I shouldn't have forgotten my training."
"Hey, it's ok," Dean said. "Things happen on hunts that can't be avoided. I still probably should've had you stay in the car, but it's been a while since I've had backup and I forgot how nice it was to have someone else on a hunt. I didn't mean for you to get hurt though…"
"I'm ok," he tried to reassure. "The cut should be closed by tomorrow and the scar will disappear by the end of the week."
Dean nodded, but then said, "I know we don't know each other, and I'm guessing it's pretty hard to trust people, but I want you to stick around. I can teach you more about hunting and we can be friends…brothers even."
"Dean…" he took a deep breath, and then let it back out in a huff. He wanted nothing more than to stay with Dean and actually feel like he belonged somewhere, but he was dangerous. He didn't want Dean to get hurt because of him. "I'm not a good person," he whispered. "I've killed…I've killed a lot of people. And if I stick around, then you'll probably get hurt because of me."
"Alec, I'm gonna get hurt with or without you around," Dean said. "And I kinda already figured out some of what you had to do back at Manticore, but Alec, I'm not scared of you. I've gotten pretty good at reading people and I think you're a good kid." Dean looked over at him to see if he believed him or not, but he couldn't figure out how Dean would know if he was good or not after just knowing him for a little over a day. But he knew Dean was good, and he didn't know how he knew it except that his gut was telling him to trust Dean. "So…am I gonna have to watch out for you sneaking out or do you want to stick with me?" Dean asked, looking uncertain.
"I want to stick around," he said.
"Ok, good," Dean said with a smile. "But we're gonna have to figure some things out first." He looked up and immediately knew Dean could tell that he was panicked. Dean chuckled though and reassured, "Alec, all I'm askin' is for you to talk to me. I can't read your mind, so if you're hungry, you gotta tell me, if you don't like whatever clothes I get for you, say something, if you're hurt, then you need to tell me. That's all."
"I gotta warn you…I really like to talk," he said.
"Really? Because so far, it's like pullin' teeth to get you to talk to me," Dean said.
"I just don't want to annoy you," he said. "I don't have a lot of options if you decide you don't want me around anymore."
"Alright, one thing you should know about me, I don't like silence," Dean said. "So, talk as much as you want. I'm not gonna tell you to shut up or get out of my car or whatever."
He smiled a little, "Ok…just remember, you told me I could talk as much as I wanted."
Dean laughed and reached over to mess up his hair.